#37 Leon

In Summary

Leon is a story of revenge and of father figures.

Set in a version of New York where crime is rife and no-one bats much of an eyelid when there is a massive shoot-up in their apartment building. The events of Leon set off when a drugs-bust results in the orphaning of Mathilda Lando (played by a 12 year-old Natalie Portman), who then takes in with the friendly hitman, Leon.

The rest of the film is about Leon reluctantly mentoring Mathilda in the ways of assassins so that one day she can seek revenge on the comically psychotic DEA agent, Norman Stansfield (played by Gary Oldman).

Along the way Leon and Mathilda strike up a strange friendship/father-daughter relationship, which occassionally threatens to enter into Lolita territory. It is the performance of Natalie Portman against the stoic Jean Reno, in the role of Leon, that carries this film along.

There are also a number of loud gun shoot-out scenes, leading to an incredibly violent and chaotic closing sequence.

And that is that.

A Memorable Quote

Mathilda: Is life always this hard, or is it just when you're a kid?
Léon: Always like this.

Things You May Not Know

• Jean Reno chose to play the role of Leon as 'mentally, a little slow' and emotionally repressed, seeking to tone down any possibility of an inappropriate relationship with Mathilda.
• A lot of Gary Oldman's best lines in this film were improvised. This includes his character's appreciation for Ludwig van Beethoven and 'Bring me everyone!'
• A scene in which Mathilda asked Leon to be her lover was taken out of the film after it tested poorly in preview screenings.

One of the Greatest of All Time?
This is a film where I just do not get why it has been rated so highly on the IMDb. Everything about this film just seems slightly off to me - the lack of consequence to the violence, the revenge motivation of a 12 year-old girl, the motivation of the villain, the relationship between Leon and Mathilda.

Worse than just seeming off, I just didn't find the film in any way compelling. I didn't find myself particularly liking any of the lead characters, nor did I find the Gary Oldman's villain particularly threatening beyond being a complete psychopath.

It's fair to say that Leon is nowhere near my own personal top 100 list.